How do folks handle open table drop-in/drop-out irregular players?

How do folks handle open table drop-in/drop-out irregular players?

How do folks handle open table drop-in/drop-out irregular players? If I have people interested but not wanting or able to commit to a long term regular game. Would BitD suffer for that and we should instead look to a different game?

10 thoughts on “How do folks handle open table drop-in/drop-out irregular players?”

  1. As long as you don’t end sessions in the middle of action, it’s fine. The regular group I play in often has players miss a session (or several) and it’s worked out fine.

  2. also, we have a Discord server for the game, which allows every to stay in touch even when they miss a week, so that folks can still contribute with ideas for scores/advancement.

  3. Seeing as it’s a gang like operation, you could easily say members are off doing other things for the gang if they’re not consistently there. But if your players are likely to dip in the middle of a mission (middle of the session) then maybe consider a less team focused system.

  4. I usually manage to finish operations in single sessions, so if I have a no-show player, I use a form of “love letter” to find out where they have been. Basically I ask them why they missed the previous job, what they were doing, and who they pissed off. Then I let them take a downtime action, but I also forward a faction clock that’s appropriate.

  5. The main character in BitD is the crew, so I don’t see a problem.

    One score per session, a downtime action for the missing character and some log to track events for all.

  6. You won’t have big personal stories focusing on what drives a particular character, but you can have a “heist of the week” game that works just fine, with the added spice of a permanent evolution through the crew and faction sides of the game. Just make sure to get 1 score + 1 downtime done per session.

  7. Definetly avoid thinking of any player as central to certain action, keep their personal stuff in sidequest area of thought so major missions arent seen as dependant on them. If you have to end in the action, just say that whoever didnt show up got seperated and hope for the best, maybe show evidence of them making their own escape, and let others in as reinforcements or attacks from other angles that have been going the whole time anyways.

  8. I think this is not only limited to players dropping out: BitD is ideal for groups with rotating GM. If everyone at the table is a member of the crew the involvment is even bigger.

  9. I typically do 1 on 1 sessions. Usually to do with their own agenda/backstory, most of the time these sessions are better overall since you get that intimacy with one of your players.

    Its interesting to have one character plot behind the back of the rest of the party. For example one of my party members was working late when we started a session so we did it over discord the next day. Another member of the party is part of one of the council members family that had vanished. He started spreading rumours that he had come back into the city.

    After a few more sessions, the player who had that connection with this family was kidnapped by one of his enemies, whom had been in hiding at this point. The player that spread the rumours used this opportunity to get a rare artefact from the kidnappers lair, while the rest of the group saved the kidnapped player.

    It’s extremely good and I feel necessary to have these 1 on 1 sessions so you can learn more about your players motivation aswell as give them the freedom to perform some actions in secrecy.

    Just write those players off as doing a job for their Strange friend and play through that next time they are available

  10. For a BitD game with a rotating GM, would the GM character who’s “off doing something else” or not actively part of the Score get a downtime action per score? Would they get the standard 2 downtime actions per score, or just 1? Our group is managing 2 scores per session, so presumably this ruling would come up twice per session.

    What downtime actions would it make sense for these characters to pursue? Healing / Vice / Training / Long-term projects all make sense. Reduce Heat and Acquire Asset seem a little more dodgy, as it means the gang is cheating out extra downtime actions that directly benefit the gang’s bottom-line. Or am I overthinking this?

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